This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Rotaviruses, which cause acute gastroenteritis in children, have been extensively studied both as model systems and as pathogens. The transcription ((+)-strand synthesis from dsRNA) and replication ((-)-strand synthesis from (+)-strand ssRNA) of viral RNAs are both carried out by rotavirus polymerase VP1. in vitro replication of (-)-strand RNA requires the presence of the core lattice protein VP2. Determining the events leading to the synthesis of the (-)-strand viral RNA is essential to understanding the replication of rotavirus in host cells in general, and the coupling of genome replication and capsid assembly in particular.